Testing, God's Sovereignty, and His Steadfastness

I know the Bible says that God tests our faith. 

Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. (Isaiah 48:10)

I won't get into a theological discussion about it, but I do know three things, the first being that when we face trials, we either push God away, or draw closer to Him; there is no middle ground.

Our pastor was suddenly rushed to the hospital on Sunday. He is in intensive care now, after a miraculous surgery that led doctors to the cause of his internal bleeding. But our Body is still fervently praying, for him, his wife, his children, and his grandchildren, because he is not completely out of the woods yet. And we are drawing closer to God, because we believe that there is joy in the circumstance despite our worry and sorrow. This is the second thing I know: God is sovereign. He is not defined by our terms. We want to know that God is reliable, and our definition of reliable is that He is predictable.

Which He is not.

But He is steadfast. This is the third thing I know.

But you, O God my Lord, deal on my behalf for your name's sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me! (Psalm 109:21)

I don't have the answers. For the three things I know, there are a million more that I do not know.

I don't know why yesterday, a friend of ours was rushed to the hospital, for unknown reasons. A CAT scan has given us no answers. 

I don't know why tornadoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes devastate cities, towns, homes, and families.

I don't know why God answers some prayers and not others.

I don't know why people like the Zellers should lose so much, and why Misty should have to endure the death of three babies.

I don't know why God chose to preserve the lives of my pastor and my friend Sarah last year.

I don't know why it is not my own husband, or child, who is in the ICU.

But I choose to dwell on the things I know, not the things I don't know, not that I am living in ignorance, but that I choose to draw near to the One who gives us hope. Whether our pastor lives or dies, my faith will grow, and God will still be sovereign and steadfast.